TEHRAN – Iranian police have recovered eleven relics from a smuggler in Kuhdasht, Lorestan province, ILNA reported on Saturday.

Objects including a dagger, metal statue, and a metal bowl were found while police forces inspected the house of an illegal antique dealer.

The relics have been surrounded by the local cultural heritage directorate for a comprehensive evaluation to find their exact dates,  the report said.

One suspect was detained and surrendered to the judicial system for further investigation and trial.

A region of raw beauty in western Iran, Lorestan was once inhabited by Iranian Indo-European peoples, including the Medes, c. 1000 BC. Moreover, Cimmerians and Scythians intermittently ruled the region from about 700 to 625 BC. Lorestan is famed for its ancient Luristan Bronzes for their eclectic array of Assyrian, Babylonian, and Iranian artistic motifs, dating from this turbulent period.

Historically speaking, Lorestan was incorporated into the growing Achaemenid Empire in about 540 BC and successively was part of the Seleucid, Parthian, and Sassanid dynasties.

AFM